Architecture is usually photographed empty, at the best moment of the best day. But a house is lived in on Tuesday mornings, in the rain, with children's shoes on the stairs. We try to design for that Tuesday.

In practice this means paying more attention to the things that are rarely photographed: the height of a kitchen window above the worktop, the place where keys are dropped, the width of a corridor where two people will pass with shopping bags.

Generosity in small things

We have learned that a slightly wider stair, a deeper windowsill or a bench beside the front door costs almost nothing and is used every day. These decisions are invisible in a rendering and essential in a life.

Our briefing process now includes a long conversation about routines — when people wake up, where they read, how they cook, who visits. It is the most useful hour of every project.